Introducing Sìchuān
Interpret literally the five Chinese elements (water, earth, wood, metal, fire) and you may understand the attraction that Sìchuān has had for millennia. Sìchuān means ‘Four Rivers’ and the name pays tribute to that most essential element, water. Indeed, the ‘four’ are but the mightiest of the 1300-plus rivers roiling or sedately meandering across the southwest’s most expansive province and long dominating the ethos.
Underappreciating the land (‘earth’) here defies possibility; one can’t help but note the high quotient of set-in-Sìchuān poetry and shānshuǐ huā (‘mountain water painting’, a traditional Chinese form). Sìchuān is ensconced to the north, west, and south by sublime mountain ranges at once majestic and foreboding (and the reason why Sìchuān remained so isolated for so much of China’s history). In the west, the sparsely populated Tibetan plateau, birthplace of many ribbony waterways, pushes skyward with each kilometre. The rivers spill eastward into the Chuānxī plain of the preternaturally fecund Sìchuān basin, which supports one of the densest (and most diverse) populations on the planet (and filling a billion other mouths).
With epic tracts of forest (‘wood’) and vast deposits of ore (‘metal’), Sìchuān has become one of China’s wealthiest provinces and in no small part is the engine of western China.
Ah, but fire may be the most esoteric. No volcanoes, but to toy with a metaphor, ‘fire’ here really means spice, as in hot (italics essential) peppers, the key ‘element’ of Sìchuān’s renowned flamethrower cuisine. The preponderance of peppers isn’t arbitrary; their spiciness is believed to help reduce a person’s internal dampness caused by high humidity and rainy weather.
Activities in Sìchuān
Central Sìchuān
It will be your fault if if your senses aren't thrilled by Central Sìchuān.
Tours in Sìchuān
Chéngdū
Judging by the laid-back attitude, admirable green space and pockets of, well, ‘old’ Chéngdū, you’d hardly know that the city is China’s fifth-most populous city (the greater metropolitan area has just broached 13 million and is growing fast even...
Sìchuān destination guides
Western Sìchuān
To the north and west of Chéngdū is where green tea becomes butter tea, Confucianism yields to Buddhism and gumdrop hills leap into jagged snowy peaks.
Hotels in Sìchuān
Budget Hotels & Hostels in Sìchuān
Guesthouses and B&Bs in Sìchuān
Apartments in Sìchuān
Éméi Shān
A cool, misty retreat from the Sìchuān basin’s sweltering heat, Éméi Shān, 130km southwest of Chéngdū, is one of the Middle Kingdom’s four famous Buddhist mountains (the others are Pǔtúoshān, Wǔtái Shān and Jiǔhuá Shān).
Need to know
Entertainment in Sìchuān
Northern Sìchuān
Plopping aboard a pony for a trek around Sōngpān and hiking in the stunning – this is not hyperbole – nature preserve of Jiǔzhàigōu are how most travellers experience the carpets of alpine forest, swaths of grasslands, primevally icy lakes and...
Shopping in Sìchuān